Rashid Mammadaliyev's victory in the 73 kg category at the Budapest Grand Slam has significantly changed the balance of power within the Azerbaijan national team and at the same time left Hidayat Heydarov facing a difficult choice ahead of the home World Championships.
As reported by İdman.Biz, the updated world rankings published by the International Judo Federation (IJF) only underline the complexity of the situation. After winning his first career Grand Slam gold medal, Mammadaliyev climbed to fifth place in the 73 kg category with 3,814 points. Heydarov, despite his recent experiments in a heavier weight class, remains relatively high in the division, sitting 16th with 1,936 points.
The situation is completely different at 81 kg, where Heydarov has recently been trying to continue his career. Here, the competition within the Azerbaijani team is arguably even tougher than the international challenge itself.
Zelim Tckaev is third in the world rankings with 3,762 points. Omar Rajabli is sixth with 2,952, while Vusal Galandarzade moved up to 18th with 2,144 points after winning bronze at the Budapest Grand Slam. Heydarov, meanwhile, is only 109th with 360 points.
Each of his three rivals has a strong case.
Tckaev has won the Qingdao Grand Prix this season, claimed silver at the Paris Grand Slam and bronze at the European Championships. He is also a bronze medallist from the 2025 World Championships.
Rajabli won the Tashkent Grand Slam this year and also took bronze at the Lausanne Grand Slam and Upper Austria Grand Prix.
Now 22-year-old Galandarzade has joined them. He won the Guadalajara Grand Prix last autumn, finished second at the Upper Austria Grand Prix in March and took bronze in Budapest, defeating Slovenia's Nace Herkovic in the medal contest.
Against this backdrop, Heydarov's position at 81 kg looks particularly complicated.
So far, he has competed in only one full international event in his new weight category – the Qingdao Grand Prix, where he immediately won a bronze medal. Budapest was supposed to be his second major test, but the Olympic champion suffered a minor leg injury in training shortly before the competition. The medical and coaching staff decided not to risk his health, with preparations for the World Championships in Baku remaining the priority.
But another question has now emerged: in which weight category should Heydarov compete at the home World Championships?
On July 16, Azerbaijan Judo Federation vice-president Elnur Mammadli said the Olympic champion would return to the 73 kg category for the World Championships in Baku. However, Heydarov subsequently continued preparing to compete at 81 kg and was entered in that division for the Budapest Grand Slam.
On September 14, the federation stated that the final decision on Heydarov's participation at the World Championships would be made by the coaching staff.
The regulations for the World Championships add another layer of intrigue.
Under the standard quota, each national team can enter up to nine male judokas, with no more than two athletes in the same weight category. As the host nation, Azerbaijan is not subject to the usual world-ranking restriction, meaning Heydarov's 109th position at 81 kg does not formally prevent him from competing.
The organisers can also receive additional wild cards in coordination with the IJF. However, under the main quota, the limit of two athletes per weight category remains in place. The final registration deadline is September 19.
And this is where the dilemma becomes particularly difficult.
If Heydarov is entered at 81 kg, the coaching staff will have to choose between four extremely strong candidates. Tckaev is world No. 3, Rajabli is No. 6, Galandarzade is No. 18 and has just won a Grand Slam medal. Even for an Olympic champion, it would be difficult in such circumstances to demand a place based solely on past achievements.
From this perspective, the 73 kg category appears considerably more logical.
Azerbaijan now have a clear new leader in Mammadaliyev, but the second slot remains a realistic option for Heydarov. Moreover, his 16th place in the world rankings means that, in terms of his current position, he would not have to start almost from scratch as he would at 81 kg.
Of course, the problem that led to the experiment with the heavier category remains.
Heydarov failed to make the 73 kg limit twice this season – at tournaments in Tashkent and Ulaanbaatar. The federation previously stated that the move to 81 kg was a joint decision by the athlete and coaching staff, made primarily with his health in mind.
That is why simply saying "return to 73 kg" may look obvious only from the outside. If cutting weight genuinely poses a risk to Heydarov's health or prevents him from preparing properly for competitions, sporting arguments become secondary.
But if the medical staff considers a return safe, Heydarov has a serious reason to reconsider his familiar division.
All the major achievements of his senior career – Olympic gold at Paris 2024, the world title and four European Championship triumphs – came at 73 kg. In his new category, he would effectively have to begin the battle for leadership from fourth place within his own national team.
At the same time, competition at 73 kg is no longer merely theoretical after Budapest.
Mammadaliyev has won his first career Grand Slam title, having previously claimed bronze at the 2025 European Championships, silver at the Baku Grand Slam and bronze medals at the Paris and Dushanbe Grand Slams. His victory in Hungary looks less like an isolated breakthrough and more like the continuation of steady progress.
This creates an unusual situation.
Until recently, the main question surrounding Heydarov was whether he could fully adapt to the 81 kg category. Now the issue is broader: which of the two divisions offers him the better prospects not only at the home World Championships but throughout the Olympic cycle?
The race for Los Angeles 2028 has already begun, with the first Olympic qualification points available from the Ulaanbaatar Grand Slam in June. The IJF is expected to publish its official Olympic qualification table for the first time after the World Championships in Baku.
The decision Heydarov and the coaching staff make now could therefore shape the Olympic champion's entire path towards defending his title in 2028.
At 81 kg, he faces Tckaev, Rajabli and Galandarzade. At 73 kg, there is the rapidly progressing Mammadaliyev.
But from a purely sporting perspective, the choice between competing with one strong rival while remaining world No. 16 in the division and trying to catch three national teammates from 109th place appears fairly telling.
There is one crucial condition: whether Hidayat Heydarov's health will allow him to make that choice.
